scholarly journals Prognostic significance of chronic respiratory symptoms in individuals with normal spirometry

2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 1900734 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunus Çolak ◽  
Børge G. Nordestgaard ◽  
Jørgen Vestbo ◽  
Peter Lange ◽  
Shoaib Afzal

Normal spirometry is often used to preclude airway disease in individuals with unspecific respiratory symptoms. We tested the hypothesis that chronic respiratory symptoms are associated with respiratory hospitalisations and death in individuals with normal spirometry without known airway disease.We included 108 246 randomly chosen individuals aged 20–100 years from a Danish population-based cohort study. Normal spirometry was defined as a pre-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 s/forced vital capacity ratio ≥0.70. Chronic respiratory symptoms included dyspnoea, chronic mucus hypersecretion, wheezing and cough. Individuals with known airway disease, i.e. chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and/or asthma, were excluded (n=10 291). We assessed risk of hospitalisations due to exacerbations of airway disease and pneumonia, and respiratory and all-cause mortality, from 2003 through 2018.52 999 individuals had normal spirometry without chronic respiratory symptoms and 30 890 individuals had normal spirometry with chronic respiratory symptoms. During follow-up, we observed 1037 hospitalisations with exacerbation of airway disease, 5743 hospitalisations with pneumonia and 8750 deaths, of which 463 were due to respiratory disease. Compared with individuals with normal spirometry without chronic respiratory symptoms, multivariable adjusted hazard ratios for individuals with normal spirometry with chronic respiratory symptoms were 1.62 (95% CI 1.20–2.18) for exacerbation hospitalisations, 1.26 (95% CI 1.17–1.37) for pneumonia hospitalisations, 1.59 (95% CI 1.22–2.06) for respiratory mortality and 1.19 (95% CI 1.13–1.25) for all-cause mortality. There was a positive dose–response relationship between number of symptoms and risk of outcomes. Results were similar after 2 years of follow-up, for never-smokers alone, and for each symptom separately.Chronic respiratory symptoms are associated with respiratory hospitalisations and death in individuals with normal spirometry without known airway disease.

2015 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 742-750 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suneela Zaigham ◽  
Per Wollmer ◽  
Gunnar Engström

The use of baseline lung function in the prediction of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) hospitalisations, all-cause mortality and lung function decline was assessed in the population-based “Men Born in 1914” cohort.Spirometry was assessed at age 55 years in 689 subjects, of whom 392 had spirometry reassessed at age 68  years. The cohort was divided into three groups using fixed ratio (FR) and lower limit of normal (LLN) criterion: forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1)/vital capacity (VC) ≥70%, FEV1/VC <70% but ≥LLN (FR+LLN−), and FEV1/VC <70% and <LLN (FR+LLN+).Over 44 years of follow-up, 88 men were hospitalised due to COPD and 686 died. Hazard ratios (95% CI) for incident COPD hospitalisation were 4.15 (2.24–7.69) for FR+LLN− and 7.88 (4.82–12.87) for FR+LLN+ (reference FEV1/VC ≥70%). Hazard ratios for death were 1.30 (0.98–1.72) for FR+LLN− and 1.58 (1.25–2.00) for FR+LLN+. The adjusted FEV1 decline between 55 and 68 years of age was higher for FR+LLN− and FR+LLN+ relative to the reference. Of those with FR+LLN− at 55 years, 53% had progressed to the FR+LLN+ group at 68 years.Airflow obstruction at age 55 years is a powerful risk factor for future COPD hospitalisations. The FR+LLN− group should be carefully evaluated in clinical practice in relation to future risks and potential benefit from early intervention. This is reinforced by the increased FEV1 decline in this group.


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 00116-2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jo Raskin ◽  
Kristina Vermeersch ◽  
Stephanie Everaerts ◽  
Pascal Van Bleyenbergh ◽  
Wim Janssens

There is growing awareness of the need for advance care planning in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order implementation remains a challenge in clinical practice.We retrospectively analysed an observational cohort of 569 COPD patients with 2.5–8 years of follow-up in secondary care, to evaluate potential determinants and the prognostic significance of DNR order implementation and specification.345 patients (61%) had no DNR order, of whom 27% died during a median (interquartile range (IQR)) follow-up of 1935 (1290–2448) days. 194 (39%) patients had a DNR order, of whom 17 had the order at baseline and 82% died (median (IQR) follow-up 528 (137–901) days), while 177 received an order during follow-up and 76% died (median (IQR) follow-up 1322 (721–2018) days). 88% of DNR orders were implemented during hospitalisation. 58% of the patients with a DNR order died within the first year after admission; of them, 66% died in the hospital. Age, forced expiratory volume in 1 s, chronic oxygen dependency and previous mechanical ventilation were significantly and independently associated with DNR order implementation. DNR order specification was significantly associated with increased mortality, even after adjustment for age and disease severity.These findings identify DNR orders as independent determinants of mortality, mainly implemented just before death.


Author(s):  
Altin Habazaj ◽  
Holta Tafa ◽  
Donika Bardhi ◽  
Hasan Hafizi

Background: Physiological research on dyspnea has provided some information on how sex differences in lung and airway size can influence the experience of dyspnea during exercise; however, there is still a knowledge gap with regard to sex-related differences in other respiratory symptoms, including cough and sputum production. Objective: The objective of this analysis was to assess sex related differences in reported objective symptoms using data from the population-based Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) study in Albania. Method: Males and females with impaired lung function may experience the same symptoms but per-ceive and/or report them differently. In this analysis were included 997 responders who had completed the core questionnaire, which included data on respiratory symptoms using the following questions: “Do you usually cough when you don’t have a cold?” and “Do you usually bring up phlegm from your chest, or do you usually have phlegm in your chest that is difficult to bring up when you don’t have a cold. Chronic was defined as three months or more per year. Data used were drawn from the final report for Albania provided by BOLD team. Results: Overall, male gender was associated with increased odds for reported chronic cough at any group age [Total: 14.7 (2.3) vs. 6.6 (0.9)]. This difference is very much reduced in the group age 70+ years old [25.8 (8.2) vs. 21.3 (6.8)]. In the contrary when we used the estimated population preva-lence of chronic cough by pack-years and gender, female gender was associated with increased odds for reported chronic cough especially in the 10+ pack-years groups [50.4 (11.0) vs. 12.2 (8.3) in 10-20 pack-years and 29.0 (5.5) vs. 26.0 (3.3) 20+ pack-years] indicating a increased smoking susceptibility of female gender. In contrast, female gender was associated with decreased odds for reported phlegm. Even for the same pack-years of smoking, female gender is associated with decreased odds for report-ed chronic phlegm [0 vs. 7.1 (8.6) in 10-20 pack-years group; 0 vs. 15.4 (3.0) in 20+ pack-years group]. Conclusions: Physicians need to recognize that although a female may not report chronic sputum or phlegm production and a male may not report chronic cough, a diagnosis of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease should still be considered as symptoms often are the first step to a diagnosis of under-lying airway disease.


2015 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 461-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes A. Luoto ◽  
Sölve Elmståhl ◽  
Per Wollmer ◽  
Mats Pihlsgård

The true incidence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is largely unknown, because the few longitudinal studies performed have used diagnostic criteria no longer recommended by either the European Respiratory Society or the American Thoracic Society (ATS).We studied the incidence and significance of airflow limitation in a population-based geriatric sample using both an age-dependent predicted lower limit of normal (LLN) value and a fixed-ratio spirometric criterion.Out of 2025 subjects with acceptable spirometry at baseline, 984 subjects aged 65–100 years completed a 6-year follow-up visit. Smoking habits were registered at baseline. Exclusion criteria were non-acceptable spirometry performance according to ATS criteria and inability to communicate. Airflow limitation was defined both according to forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1)/forced vital capacity ratio <0.7 and <LLN.The incidence of airflow limitation per 1000 person-years was 28.2 using a fixed ratio and 11.7 with LLN, corresponding to a 1.41-fold higher incidence rate using a fixed ratio. The incidence increased dramatically with age when using a fixed ratio, but less so when using LLN. In addition, a sex effect was observed with the LLN criterion. LLN airflow limitation was associated with increased 5-year mortality. Presence of fixed-ratio airflow limitation in individuals classified by LLN as non-obstructive was not associated with increased mortality.


Thorax ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 74 (10) ◽  
pp. 934-940 ◽  
Author(s):  
Truls Sylvan Ingebrigtsen ◽  
Jørgen Vestbo ◽  
Line Rode ◽  
Jacob Louis Marott ◽  
Peter Lange ◽  
...  

BackgroundIndividual susceptibility to exacerbations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is likely influenced by genetic factors; however, most such variance is unexplained. We hypothesised that β2-adrenergic receptor genotypes, Gly16Arg (rs1042713, c.46G>A) and Gln27Glu (rs1042714, c.79C>G) influence risk of severe exacerbations in COPD.MethodsAmong 96 762 individuals in the Copenhagen General Population Study, we identified 5262 with COPD (forced expiratory volume in one second divided by forced vital capacity, FEV1/FVC, below 0.7, FEV1 less than 80% of predicted value, age above 40 years and no asthma) who had genotyping performed. Severe exacerbations were defined as acute admissions due to COPD during 5 years of follow-up (mean 3.4 years). 923 individuals with COPD diagnosed similarly in the Copenhagen City Heart Study (CCHS) were used for replication analyses.ResultsWe recorded 461 severe exacerbations in 5262 subjects. The HRs for severe exacerbations were 1.62 (95% CI 1.30 to 2.03, p=0.00002) for 16Gly/Arg heterozygotes and 1.41 (1.04 to 1.91, p=0.03) for 16Arg homozygotes, compared with 16Gly homozygotes. HRs were 1.35 (1.03 to 1.76, p=0.03) for 27Gln/Glu heterozygotes and 1.49 (1.12 to 1.98, p=0.006) for 27Gln homozygotes, compared with 27Glu homozygotes. Similar trends were observed in the CCHS. Among 27Gln homozygotes only, HRs were 5.20 (1.81 to 14.9, p=0.002) for 16Gly/Arg heterozygotes and 4.03 (1.40 to 11.6, p=0.01) for 16Arg homozygotes, compared with 16Gly homozygotes.ConclusionCommon β2-adrenergic receptor genotypes influence risk of severe exacerbations in COPD, potentially mainly by genetic influence of the 16Arg allele in rs1042713.


2021 ◽  
pp. postgradmedj-2021-141206
Author(s):  
Konstantinos Bartziokas ◽  
Christos Kyriakopoulos ◽  
Evangelia Dounousi ◽  
Konstantinos Kostikas

ObjectivesMicroalbuminuria (MAB) is a sensitive biomarker of cardiovascular risk that is directly associated with cardiovascular events and mortality. Recent studies have evaluated the presence of MAB in patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or hospitalised for acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD).MethodsWe evaluated 320 patients admitted for AECOPD in respiratory medicine departments of two tertiary hospitals. On admission, demographic, clinical and laboratory values and COPD severity were assessed. Patients were evaluated monthly for 1 year, recording new AECOPD and death from any cause.ResultsPatients with documented MAB (urinary albumin excretion of 30–300 mg/24 hours) on admission had worse lung function (forced expiratory volume in 1 s, %) (mean (SD) 34.2 (13.6)% vs 61.5 (16.7)%), higher modified Medical Research Council (3.6 (1.2) vs 2.1 (0.8)), lower 6 min walk test (171 (63) vs 366 (104)) and more hospitalisation days (9 (2.8) vs 4.7 (1.9)) (p<0.001 for all comparisons). MAB was also correlated with Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease 2020 COPD stages (p<0.001). In multivariate regression analysis, MAB was a significant predictor of longer hospitalisation duration (OR 6.847, 95% CI 3.050 to 15.370, p<0.0001). Twelve-month follow-up revealed that patients with MAB experienced more AECOPDs (4.6 (3.6) vs 2.2 (3.5), p<0.0001) and deaths, n (%) (52 (36.6) vs 14 (7.8), p<0.001). Kaplan-Meier survival curves demonstrated that patients with MAB presented with increased mortality, AECOPD and hospitalisation for AECOPD risk at 1 year (p<0.001 for all comparisons).ConclusionsThe presence of MAB on admission for AECOPD was associated with more severe COPD and prolonged hospitalisation, as well as with higher rates of AECOPD and mortality risk at 1-year follow-up.


Thorax ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-36
Author(s):  
Nicholas T Vozoris ◽  
Priscila Pequeno ◽  
Ping Li ◽  
Peter C Austin ◽  
Anne L Stephenson ◽  
...  

IntroductionRespiratory-related morbidity and mortality were evaluated in relation to incident prescription oral synthetic cannabinoid (nabilone, dronabinol) use among older adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).MethodsThis was a retrospective, population-based, data-linkage cohort study, analysing health administrative data from Ontario, Canada, from 2006 to 2016. We identified individuals aged 66 years and older with COPD, using a highly specific, validated algorithm, excluding individuals with malignancy and those receiving palliative care (n=185 876 after exclusions). An equivalent number (2106 in each group) of new cannabinoid users (defined as individuals dispensed either nabilone or dronabinol, with no dispensing for either drug in the year previous) and controls (defined as new users of a non-cannabinoid drug) were matched on 36 relevant covariates, using propensity scoring methods. Cox proportional hazard regression was used.ResultsRate of hospitalisation for COPD or pneumonia was not significantly different between new cannabinoid users and controls (HR 0.87; 95% CI 0.61–1.24). However, significantly higher rates of all-cause mortality occurred among new cannabinoid users compared with controls (HR 1.64; 95% CI 1.14–2.39). Individuals receiving higher-dose cannabinoids relative to controls were observed to experience both increased rates of hospitalisation for COPD and pneumonia (HR 2.78; 95% CI 1.17–7.09) and all-cause mortality (HR 3.31; 95% CI 1.30–9.51).ConclusionsNew cannabinoid use was associated with elevated rates of adverse outcomes among older adults with COPD. Although further research is needed to confirm these observations, our findings should be considered in decisions to use cannabinoids among older adults with COPD.


2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
J W D Shanmuganathan ◽  
K H K Kragholm ◽  
B T Tayal ◽  
L P Poulsen ◽  
T C E G El-Galaly ◽  
...  

Abstract Abstract Background 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is the third most commonly used chemotherapeutic agent in the treatment of solid malignancies across the world. The most common manifestation of cardiotoxicity associated with 5-FU is chest pain, presenting as atypical chest pain, angina on exertion or rest and acute coronary syndromes including myocardial infarction and in worse case even death. Nevertheless, a widespread appreciation of 5-FU related cardiotoxicity including myocardial infarction is poorly understood. Purpose This study aims to examine risk of myocardial infarction in patients treated with 5-FU compared to age- and sex-matched population controls. Methods and results Methods: Individuals treated with 5-FU between 2004 and 2014 in the Danish National Patient Register were identified and risk set matching was used to find background population controls matched on age and sex in a 1:5 ratio. Furthermore, two years follow-up time were added with total 13 years. Neither 5-FU patients nor controls had prior ischemic disease. Aalen-Johansen and Kaplan-Meier estimates were used to report the cumulative incidence of myocardial infarction and all-cause mortality, respectively. A multivariable Shared Frailty Cox regression analysis (adjusted for patient age, sex, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease, heart failure and atrial fibrillation as well as selected anti-anginal medications including nitrates, beta- and calcium-blockers) was used to determine the association between 5-FU treatment and the one-year risk of myocardial infarction. Results A total of 9,012 5-FU patients and 45,060 controls formed the study population. Differences in comorbid conditions (diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease, heart failure and atrial fibrillation) and selected anti-anginal medications (nitrates, beta- and calcium-blockers) were non-significant (all P>0.05). The one-year cumulative incidence of myocardial infarction is significantly higher for 5-FU patients at 0.8% versus 0.6% among population controls (Figure 1A), with a competing risk of death of 25.1% versus 1.2%. The risk diminishes beyond one year and becomes lower for 5-FU patients with time (Figure 1A), along with an increasing all-cause mortality (Figure 1B). The unadjusted and adjusted hazard ratio for the one-year risk of myocardial infarction were 1.38 [95% CI 1.07–1.78] and 1.54 [95% CI 1.19–1.99]. Conclusions Although the one-year risk of myocardial infarction is higher among 5-FU patients compared with population controls, the absolute risk is small and becomes insignificant beyond one year of follow-up.


2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 1281-1289 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Donaire-Gonzalez ◽  
Elena Gimeno-Santos ◽  
Eva Balcells ◽  
Jordi de Batlle ◽  
Maria A. Ramon ◽  
...  

The present study aims to disentangle the independent effects of the quantity and the intensity of physical activity on the risk reduction of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) hospitalisations.177 patients from the Phenotype Characterization and Course of COPD (PAC-COPD) cohort (mean±sd age 71±8 years, forced expiratory volume in 1 s 52±16% predicted) wore the SenseWear Pro 2 Armband accelerometer (BodyMedia, Pittsburgh, PA, USA) for eight consecutive days, providing data on quantity (steps per day, physically active days and daily active time) and intensity (average metabolic equivalent tasks) of physical activity. Information on COPD hospitalisations during follow-up (2.5±0.8 years) was obtained from validated centralised datasets.During follow-up 67 (38%) patients were hospitalised. There was an interaction between quantity and intensity of physical activity in their effects on COPD hospitalisation risk. After adjusting for potential confounders in the Cox regression model, the risk of COPD hospitalisation was reduced by 20% (hazard ratio (HR) 0.79, 95% CI 0.67–0.93; p=0.005) for every additional 1000 daily steps at low average intensity. A greater quantity of daily steps at high average intensity did not influence the risk of COPD hospitalisations (HR 1.01, p=0.919). Similar results were found for the other measures of quantity of physical activity.Greater quantity of low-intensity physical activity reduces the risk of COPD hospitalisation, but high-intensity physical activity does not produce any risk reduction.


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